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Ben Frost

Ben Frost

Born 1980 Melbourne Australia
Lives Reykjavík Iceland

The music Ben Frost is about contrast; influenced as much by Classical Minimalism as by Punk Rock and Metal, Frost's throbbing guitar-based textures emerge from nothing and slowly coalesce into huge, forbidding forms that often eschew conventional structures in favor of the inevitable unfoldings of vast mechanical systems.

“…The emotional power of Frost's music comes precisely from the stark contrast between extremely basic musical material and the deadly virtual instruments he invents to perform it… This is Arvo Pärt as arranged by Trent Reznor” – Wire Magazine, 2007

On albums like Steel Wound, released on the Room40 label in 2003 (Pitchfork: “An exemplary ambient experience”), Theory of Machines on Bedroom Community in 2007 (Boomkat: “The Future of electronic music…”) and 2009's BY THE THROAT (NME: “a hollow, unforgiving, brutal yet utterly beautiful record, full of deep intricacies that won’t let you go.”) Frost’s music is more than a cerebral exercise and has an undeniable visceral presence, felt as much as heard. His compositions are created with an acute awareness of the listener and their comfort thresholds, exploiting every extreme of pitch and volume. His notorious, building-shaking performances at international festivals including Montreal’s famed MUTEK combine amplified electronics with the furious thrashing of live guitars. Frost himself has been described as “one of the most interesting and groundbreaking producers in the world today” (Boomkat). His music’s intense physicality has filled gallery spaces and driven contemporary dance productions by Chunky Move, the Icelandic Dance Company, and the acclaimed choreographers Erna Ómarsdottir and Wayne McGregor.

Ben recently collaborated with labelmate Daníel Bjarnason, resulting in the album SÓLARIS, released on Bedroom Community in 2011. See more here.

What the press says

"Music community, brace yourselves. Ben Frost is set to occupy 'best of' lists again... ominous and devastated... Frost at his most beautiful... It’s shocking how fresh and unique this album is, a truly singular artist at the height of his craft."

Keith Pishnery — Word - Like a Scientist (September 19th 2009) Read all reviews

"BY THE THROAT plunges into a dense, dark and threatening network of subterranean galleries... If 'Theory Of Machines' was the sound of engineering gone wrong, By The Throat is that of nature shutting down, bringing all life forms down in its fall."

themilkman — The Milk Factory (September 25th 2009) Read all reviews

"This is no easy ride... you'll be exposed to music that's both viscerally hard on the ears and achingly beautiful... Formidable and far-reaching... (BY THE THROAT) might be one of 2009's most singularly impressive listening experiences and very likely the only record you'll hear this year whose repertoire consists of both luscious classical chamber compositions and the hunting calls of killer whales."

Boomkat (October 1st 2009) Read all reviews

"BY THE THROAT is a break in the evolutionary ladder, a jump across links in the Darwinian chain, a re-mapping of sonic DNA. Frost has taken modern music off the respirator and sent it once again trekking into the wild unknown."

Richard Allen — The Silent Ballet (October 5th 2009) Read all reviews

"...in 2007 I described his music as ambient hardcore – psychologically raw, punishing... That album left a lasting impression on me... I didn’t think that 'Theory Of Machines' could be outdone, that is until I put on BY THE THROAT. Frost’s onslaught is incredible. I stand applauding."

Headphone Commute (October 18th 2009) Read all reviews

"Ben Frost had influenced what By The Throat 'looks' like to me before I'd even heard it, memorably telling the Krakow Post its visual palette is “like the glow from a lava flow, or a burning church.” ...a stunning roiling compact of pained human breath, serrated slashes of random frequency and spurts of electronic noise flapping across the stereo channels."

Chris Power — Drowned in Sound (October 21st 2009) Read all reviews

"...As equally terrifying as it is breathtaking, as claustrophobic as it is expansive, and as squarely rooted in the 21st century as it is timeless. Minimalism for the post-apocalypse... The best album of 2009"

Ryan Hall — In Your Speakers (November 1st 2009) Read all reviews

"Reaches right out of the thought bubble and punches you out of your skin."

David Stubbs — BBC (November 10th 2009) Read all reviews

Like a great horror film where one wants desperately to look away but cannot, it attracts and repels so convincingly that one must listen to it over and again in order to uncover its many—often terrible—secrets.

All Music (December 3rd 2009) Read all reviews

Frost's work is more than a hall of terrors: These vivid instrumentals, which seem menacing at first, also feel somehow triumphant when heard again – new details becoming more crucial. By the Throat might frighten on the first listen, and it might shock by the 12th. But, somewhere in between, Frost – both a compelling new musical dramaturge and arranger – might just show you the silver lining of all these fears.

Grayson Currin — Pitchfork (March 5th 2010) Read all reviews

"Sonic Youth has softened guitar rock audiences, Lightning Bolt has done the same for many punks, and Fennesz has shown the possibility for melody among noisenik laptoppers... if there is a list of noise artists that could permanently change how music listeners view the genre it may be time to add Ben Frost to it. A-"

Todd Burns — Stylus Magazine (December 14th 2006) Read all reviews

"Theory Of Machines is a mathematical model or a cosmos: the work is thought out from start to finish, but appears organic and liquid in nature."

Atli Bollason — Morgunblaðið (December 23rd 2006) Read all reviews

"Recalls the dense, relentlessness of the Swans, A sublime condensation of experience - dynamic, expansive and epic... Like the sound of icebergs breaking slowly apart"

Seb — Cyclinc Defrost Magazine (January 7th 2007) Read all reviews

Ranging from the bottom of an overpowering Tim Hecker guitar crackle canyon (“cities collapsing”, as my friend Andrew always says whenever he hears something like this) to the high atmosphere jetstreams of Eliane Radigue or a 12K type like Richard Chartier, Theory Of Machines has more depth than anything I’ve heard all year.

Mapsadaisical — Mapsadaisical (February 17th 2007) Read all reviews

"Simply awesome… Frost reminds us that minimalism was never just the polished sheen of Reich and Glass, but also the sweat and grime of Michael Gira's Swans... A deeper, darker minimalism- menacing and claustrophobic... This is Arvo Pärt as arranged by Trent Reznor... Magnificent"

Dan Warburton — The Wire (March 1st 2007) Read all reviews

An easy album this is not, as it willfully (and playfully) antagonizes the listener, but it contains unsuspected moments of beauty.

All Music (March 5th 2007) Read all reviews

Media

Everything Everywhere All The Time - Trailer

This is a trailer for the Bedroom Community film Everything Everywhere All The Time
With Sam Amidon, Ben Frost, Nico Muhly and Valgeir Sigurðsson
Directed by Pierre-Alain Giraud

Ben Frost & Daníel Bjarnason - Cruel Miracles

A teaser for SÓLARIS by Ben Frost & Daníel Bjarnason featuring the song Cruel Miracles.

Ben Frost & Daníel Bjarnason - Saccades

A teaser for SÓLARIS by Ben Frost & Daníel Bjarnason featuring the song Saccades.

Ben Frost & Daníel Bjarnason - Reyja

A teaser for SÓLARIS by Ben Frost & Daníel Bjarnason featuring the song Reyja.

Sam Amidon - How come that Blood (live)

A live performance of Sam Amidon’s How come that Blood. Footage shot in Brussels on the Bedroom Community’s Whale Watching Tour. Also featured in this piece are Ben Frost, Nico Mulhy, Valgeir Sigurdsson.

Shot and edited by Pierre-Alain Giraud and Stuart Rogers.

I SEE THE SIGN: New album out April 20, 2010.

Whale Watching 2010 Tour Trailer

Sam Amidon, Ben Frost, Nico Muhly and Valgeir Sigurðsson return with this wondrous concert-series through Europe, starting at Berlins Admiralspalast on the 18th April and ending in The National Theater in Reykjavík on 16th May.

Video by Pierre-Alain GIraud & Stuart Rogers

Ben Frost - Híbakúsja

Performed during the Whale Watching Tour 2009, Brussels
With Sam Amidon, Ben Frost , Nico Muhly, Valgeir Sigurðsson
Video by Pierre-Alain Giraud & Stuart Rogers

Draumalandið (Dreamland) Music Examples

Here are a few music examples from Draumalandið (Dreamland), a documentary about the exploitation of Iceland’s natural resources, tells a story about huge things—the fortunes of a whole nation; the destruction of vast landscapes; and the global economic forces, greater still than any nation, that fuel it all—and for his soundtrack to the film, Valgeir has brought out a heavier set of tools. His entire roster of Bedroom Community labelmates contributes in some way to the creation of the score: classical composers Nico Muhly and Daníel Bjarnason, industrial wizard Ben Frost, and American folksinger Sam Amidon, along with a host of others, and the small orchestra assembled for the record swells from moments of expansive beauty into massive, surging symphonic force. Its harmonies are anxious, pulsing, driven.

Valgeir Sigurðsson - Past Tundra

Whale Watching Tour 2009 in Leipzig
Valgeir Sigurðsson with Sam Amidon, Ben Frost and Nico Muhly
Vidéo Stuart Rogers and Pierre-Alain Giraud

Whale Watching Tour 2009

Sam Amidon, Ben Frost, Nico Muhly and Valgeir Sigurðsson
European tour November 2009
Video by Pierre-Alain Giraud and Stuart Rogers